Monday, July 21, 2008

One of the problems with buying international VoIP termination is that its almost impossible to control what the called party will see as the caller ID. This is because there are many intervening carriers involved in most international calls, and each carrier may have reasons for obscuring or re-writing the ANI of the original caller. However, there are a few carriers that are able to gurantee ANI delivery on certain international routes. They can do this because they have special relationships with the last-mile carrier in the target country. However, it can be very confusing to decipher which carriers are able to support ANI delivery, especiually since the situation may change from time to time.

grnVoIP has a solution. We have gone to the trouble of identifying those carriers with the capability to deliverr ANI to specific destinations. And, we have used this information to create a single Premium route that will provide ANI delivery to more than 100 international destinations. We expect to go live with this service soon. See the grnVoIPwebsite for more details.

Friday, May 16, 2008

VoIP-News.com wrote an article on May 13th 08 written by Robert Poe concerning network neutrality. In summary, John Conveyers has introduced a bill to Congress recently that would make network neutrality (the right for anyone to freely use the internet) to be an antitrust issue. If the internet is regulated and a company violates the new laws, then hefty fines through litigation would be imposed. An earlier bill proposed by Edward Markey would make network neutrality violations an FCC issue with common carrier rules that aren’t as hard to deal with as antitrust laws. Pushing this litigation will be hard for the congressmen because of the intensity of their campaigns. However, Comcast has given network neutrality media attention by blocking peer to peer downloading site Bit Torrent. Comcast eventually backed out of the situation. To read the entire article visit VoIP-News.com

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Microsoft's SP1 Service Pack is aimed at small business IP- VOIP networks. The new service pack will have a setup wizard allowing for small businesses to hook up VoIP in minutes as opposed to days or weeks. SP1 also will enable businesses to obtain local VoIP numbers, which is great for yellow page listings and other directories. Microsoft will be looking to team up with IP-Vendors as they edge their way into the IP-VoIP small business market. They’ll be looking to control this market as they do with other software programs. A billion dollar monopoly lawsuit is nothing for them compared to the benefits of having 80-90 percent market share with their operating systems. Watch out for Microsoft in the IP-VoIP industry to try the same strategy. They may not even need the best solution; just the compatibility of programs alone will make them a big threat.

Response Point will give small businesses more control to set up features like adds, moves, and more. It uses voice activated recognition software for simplicity. It’ll be easy to access entire company directories form phones. Microsoft is coming out with a DVX 2000 version, Uniden Evolo, Quanta Syspine, and D-Link Version.

Some more criticism: Response point doesn’t support T1 Trunking which is very important. It doesn’t support Plain old telephone networks (POTS), and has problems with remote access.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Here at GRNVoIP we use Solegy to provide all of our back-office services. They announced an award from Unified Communications today. Here is the press release form their website.

Solegy Receives Product of the Year Award from Unified Communications Magazine

New York, NY. (March 18, 2008) — Solegy is proud to announce that its Chatvertizer application has received the Product of the Year Award from Unified Communications magazine for representing a ground-breaking advancement in the field of UC technologies for the year 2007.

The Solegy Chatvertizer is an automated system that allows advertisers to engage customers in a chat environment by presenting opt-in advertisements based on highly selectable criteria. In its simplest form, it will will dispatch a chatbot to join target chat rooms using the XMPP instant messaging protocol and listen for keywords. When a keyword is encountered and matches defined conditions, it will send a message to the originator that can contain an HTML link to a Web location.

For example, a chatbot might be configured to be listed for the keywords "drive", "car" and "wheels". When these keywords appear in the proper order and context, the chatbot can send a message to the originator (or to the entire chat room) suggesting a product or location of potential interest, such as a car manufacturer's Website, or an online auction for autos.

With the ever increasing popularity of non-traditional video distribution methods, such as You Tube, time-shifting and video-on-demand, advertisers are finding it difficult to find appropriate venues of engagement to reach their intended audience. The Solegy Chatvertizer system offers an ideal complement to existing advertising fora by providing an additional opportunity for advertisers to identify and interact with their target audience. For instance, video content can contain pointers to online chat rooms where interested participants can engage with others interested parties. These chat rooms, hosted by the content owner, may then serve as a fertile environment in which to serve highly targeted advertising messages.

Key to the system is Solegy's powerful ServicePDQ back end. With it, content owners can provide advertisers with a means to specify the keywords and conditions that they wish to act upon. In an competitive environment, advertisers can even bid on keywords in real-time, such that only the highest bidder gets the opportunity to offer its content. Each keyword impression is tracked by the Solegy ServicePDQ back-office so that informative metrics are made available in real-time, allowing advertisers to alter their strategy as the need may arise. The ServicePDQ system can also keep track of impression charges so that payment to the content owner can be settled in an efficient manner. The Solegy system also enforces policies regarding users that choose to opt-in and can be enhanced to allow keyword-response value pairs based on an individual's user-specific criteria.

Solegy offers managed deployment and back-office systems for VoIP, wireless and cable networks. ServicePDQ, Solegy’s managed Service Delivery Platform (SDP), enables service providers to launch broadband communications services with minimal capital expenditure and integration overhead, resulting in reduced risk, faster time-to-market and a higher return on investment. These service solutions are developed for use with IP and IMS-based networks and applications. Solegy pre-built applications include SOHO Broadband Phone, Voice VPN, Wholesale Peering, Calling cards, as well as Web, SMS & Traditional and Callback. Built on the Solegy ServicePDQ platform, all Solegy solutions provide a real time, operator-grade session management and back-office environment. Solegy is based in New York City, with offices in San Jose, Toronto and Manila. For more information please visit www.solegy.com.

About Unified Communications magazine

New in July 2007, Unified Communications magazine is devoted to educating enterprise decision makers on why and how they need to deploy unified communications (UC) solutions. Every issue of Unified Communications magazine features a comprehensive news section; case studies of successful deployments and lessons learned; interviews with leading hardware and software companies; and an 'industry' section, featuring analysis of important mergers and acquisition, partnerships and a Wall Street perspective on the unified communications market. Unified Communications has a subscriber base of 41,509.

About TMC

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is an integrated global media company helping our clients build communities in print, online and in-person. TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and IMS Magazine. TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. According to Quantcast, TMCnet reaches nearly one million U.S. unique visitors each month. TMCnet serves as many as three million unique visitors globally each month according to Webtrends. TMC is also the first publisher to test new products in its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs. In addition, TMC produces INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO, and Call Center 2.0 Conference. (*alexa.com is an amazon.com company that ranks Web sites by their traffic levels. Neither alexa.com nor amazon.com is affiliated with TMCnet.)

I think that companies can benefit greatly from an advertising program like this. Advertising is a necessity in competitive markets these days, and forward thinking advertising that is unobtrusive is a must have.

Ads that I'm not in favor of include pay per play advertising, which are audio ads that play every time you load a website. They sound annoying to me, and people are way to quick to blog positively about it. They get hyped up about the 100 percent conversion rates, whilst not seeing how irritating they are.

Something to look out for in my opinion is flash video ads that are silent, but can be listened to by clicking on the volume is the web visitor is interested.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Wireless VoIP aka, WVoIP is an exciting area in the VoIP arena. It can be used overWifi,EVDO Revision-A, HSDPA, and WiMAX. Callers aren’t limited to a single phone, and can use a headset, laptop, PDA, or a mobile-WiFi phone.

Wireless VoIP has a limited range despite its immense cost savings to mobile users. Also, It doesn’t always work well with WiFi networks originally engineered for data as opposed to voice packets. This gives current cell phone networks the advantage over wireless VoIP despite cost savings.

Tata Communications said that they are coming out with the largest WiMaX network to date. Telsima will build the network. Its supposed to cover over 110 cities with limited coverage and 15 with full coverage. Many of the areas covered don’t have access to broadband, and only about 3 million people in India have access to broadband networks out of a total population of 1.2 billion.

Three of the U.S WiMAX network providers include: MetroBridge Networks, which covers Arizona and Seatle, Clearwire which holds 2.5 GHZ licenses with a test market in the Northwest, (They plan to compete with other WiMAX providers nationwide), and Sprint-Nextel who also has 2.5 GHZ licenses, and they plan to cover Washington D.C , Baltimore, and Chicago.

With all of the competition WiMAX commands, the technology can only get better, and this is an exciting time for mobile phone users who want cheaper rates using wireless VoIP, especially for long distance calls only costing pennies.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Here at GRNVoIP we have a new customer portal! It's more user friendly, flexible, and provides more features. GRNVoIP is always striving to go beyond the regualr user experience, and to provide the best customer service in the wholesale VoIP market.

I'm going to point you to this article about proxy servers today. I don't really use them, but If you need to protect your ID and equipment, looks like they can come in handy. After all, you don't want Angelina Jolie snoopping around in your computer (Sorry, I watched the movie Hackers again recently lol, great movie)

What Do You Get From a Proxy Server?

What do you think of when you hear the words proxy server? If you're like me, the first thing it makes you think of is something like "Night at the Roxbury". It is just the "x" that gets me I guess. Kind of silly isn't it? However, the truth is that it is nothing like that. How much do you know about proxy servers? Here we will briefly go over what exactly a proxy server is and some of the benefits you will enjoy while using one.

A proxy server actually does a few things you may not be aware of. It lets you surf the web without anyone knowing it was you! Does that sound absurd? It isn't. There are many reasons and occasions when people do not want to be detected while viewing certain websites.

Some of these instances to use a proxy server would be if you are at school. It's likely that the computers at your school prohibit you from accessing certain websites, or certain types of websites. Your internet surfing behavior is often monitored. Maybe you have tried to visit something during a break only to find you were unable to. This is probably because it was blocked.

The same is true of many workplaces today. You will be unable to visit websites that they have already blocked on their computers.

However, by using proxy servers you will normally be able to unblock and access these pages. Many people use proxy servers to be able to surf the internet, and websites of their choice anonymously.

Anonymous surfing is not the only use for proxy servers though. They can also increase the speed and effectiveness of your internet connection in some cases. Whenever it is used on a network of computers, it will automatically save information, files, and web pages that are commonly accessed. This saves time from retrieving the information individually each time someone new tries to access it.

This is called a "cache." When someone requests a web page for example, by trying to view it, the proxy server will check the cache first to see if it is there. If it is, the information will be provided quicker than if it isn't.

Lastly, proxy servers are an effective tool in hiding your IP address. When you go on the internet and visit a website, you can be leaving behind traces of your identity like you IP address. Hackers can get this information and even gain access to your personal computer and hard drive. Therefore, it can be very important to hide information like this from others.

Overall, by using a proxy server you can help ensure that you are safe. There are many places that enable you to use a proxy server via their websites. By doing this you will be keeping your information private, safe, and out of dangerous hands. You are also able to surf to websites of your choice anonymously, even if they are normally "blocked" on the computer that you are using.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Apple's Macbook air is strategically designed and innovative to say the least. It’s oober thin and doesn’t forgo all of the other features that Mac lover’s love, like that enormous mouse pad that dosen’t make you strain to get from point A to point B on your laptop, a built in webcam, and long battery life. Weighing in with 2GB of ram, a 1.6 ghz or 1.8ghz processor with the famed quad core duo processor, what more could you ask for?

Of course it will come at a hefty price tag at $1,800 or $3,000 for the 1.6 and the 1.8 ghz preorders respectively, they will still fly off the shelves. I personally won’t be able to join in on the action, but hmmm maybe I can... nahh you can’t sell organs on Ebay anymore. Maybe I’ll be able to get one once they have some refurbs up on their site. Apple is known for having refurbs that work really well, and all of their refurbs come with the Leopord upgrade. Cootos to Steve Jobs and Apple for continuing to innovate while most other computer manufacturer is sleeping. It’ll be coming with the Mac OSX Leopord upgrade of course, and users will see that purple space desktop wallpaper as they power up their Macbook Air’s. Why not make a VoIP call while your at it after your all set up. That’s all I need, a Macbook with VoIP and Adobe Photoshop, caramel macchiato, and a newspaper and I’m all set.

Where can apple go next? Maybe they will imbed Macbooks into our skin. Who knows. What I do know is that Apple is staying on the cutting edge of technology and they deserve what they are getting. Apple’s computer market share,(thanks in part to the Apple IPod) has risen from two percent to over eight percent and climbing reminiscing the days of IBM’s big blue vs. Apple and that super bowl ad with the big brother 1984 theme. Apple purports the American ideal of freedom, individuality, and creativity.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has changed the way people communicate, and most people who have heard about it or used it would agree. VoIP has allowed for sending voice packets over the internet rather than communicating through Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). With all of its success and move to broadband, shift to switches, better sound quality, and connections, where does VoIP have left to go?

1.To begin with, look for VoIP to rapidly evolve in the mobile industry as it has already done so with land-line phones. Third Generation (3G) users are expected to reach over 230 million by the end of the year 2012. Look for interesting new headsets to also cause buzz such as Apple’s 3G headset coming out.

2. Watch for VoIP to keep up its integration into web 2.0 interfaces such asEbay (actually may be selling Skype), Facebook, and Myspace. VoIP will be continuing to look for new ways to improve similar websites whether they are auction sites, social networking sites, or blogs. The ability to block unwanted calls and privacy is another factor that can lead to success for the integration of VoIP. People need to feel that they are in control and don’t want disruptive calls.

3. The integration of VoIP into places that are moreconvenient for people to

access it, such as in web browsers is another innovation to look for. Plugins, or

a ad-on to browsers that allow for enhanced content,

can enable people to connect to their VoIP phone where they most often use

their computers for online activities. Macromedia has announced that a flash

plugin will include a session initiation protocol client (SIP client), so that it will

People like web interface interaction to be convenient and useful and VoIP

plugins are the way to go.

4. Mobile applications will make VoIP stand out in 2008 such as with Google’s Android, which will have an open source mobile platform and the application Bonanza that Google

is going to market. Google has encouraged developers to create applications for its operating system, and some betas have been created already.

5. Look for VoIP in gaming as gamers continue to move online and interact with each other. Skype announced that it partnered with Sony on its PSP systems to enable VoIP calling with SkypeIn and SkypeOut.

With all of these new trends, applications, and developments to look out for, VoIP hasn’t slowed down as some would say. It’s still continuing to evolve and save businesses, call centers, and consumer’s money while continuing to improve quality and features.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

I’m addicted to Wikipedia. If Wikipedia could talk and move, I think I would reserve it a seat at every dinner outing. I’m not the only one addicted to Wikipedia. Hundreds upon thousands of people use it as a reference for there info needs, especially tech/VoIP folks. There are countless spin-offs of Wikipedia to go along. Developers are often putting the Wiki's into their sites or forums. Why do I and others love Wikipedia so much? I think it’s because of the excessive hyper-search results on the internet. If you search for something like VoIP in Google for instance, you get a bunch of companies, weblogs, news, sponsored links, government links, directories, and of course a link to wikipedia. Wheww that’s a lot of different kinds of content. Wikipedia tends to cut the confusion and get right to the info. It’s highly monitored, and has no spam tolerance. Try editing a page and you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you don’t author an article that’s exactly the way Wikipedia wants it, then it’ll be marked in the code, and subsequently deleted soon after if you don’t argue your case (often they delete your article even if you do plead your case).

The best thing you can do in Wikipedia is follow there guidelines carefully. Entries can’t be written like an advertisement (i.e pushing/promoting a company, not mentioning competitors). However, Companies do show up on Wikipedia. Getting a company into Wikipedia is an art form in itself. Use a lot of reference and citations if you have any. This will increase your chances of success because Wikipedia entries are supposed to be written in an encyclopedic manner. Pay attention to your Wiki talk tab/section. If a moderator doesn’t like what you’ve written, they will talk to you in this section. Often you have to put a{{hang on}} tag in the code in order to talk to the moderator before an entry is deleted. Putting too many external links up on Wikipedia is considered spamming. Figuring out how to write good articles on Wikipedia is worth it, and will show up in top search engine results.